BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed a symposium on Wednesday morning to mark the upcoming 110th anniversary of the birth of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, which falls on Friday.

The symposium, held at the Great Hall of the People, was presided over by Liu Yunshan.

Deng was born on Aug. 22, 1904 in southwest China's Sichuan Province. He was called "chief architect of China's reform and opening-up" for his painstaking efforts in leading the country's transformation drive starting in the 1970s.